From exposed wire lines to employees eating while preparing food, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City-area restaurants last week.
Dining establishments like sit-down restaurants, drive-thrus, gas stations and grocery stores are required to get food inspections, and governments have to release those inspections to the public.
In Kansas City and Independence, each city’s health department enforces the food code while in Kansas, the state’s Department of Agriculture handles inspections. The lower the number of violations, the better.
Most restaurants correct violations at the time of the original inspection or shortly after. The full inspections show how each establishment has corrected or is working to correct any remaining violations. They are available for Kansas City at inspectionsonline.us/foodsafety/mousakansascity/search.htm and Johnson and Wyandotte counties at portal.kda.ks.gov/Food/FoodInspectionSearch.
Here are the restaurants in Kansas City, as well as in Wyandotte and Johnson County, that received seven or more priority and priority foundation violations from Oct. 4-11.
Urban Egg8653 NE 85th St.Seven critical violations found during Oct. 6 inspection
An employee was seen cooking food without a hair restraint. A three-compartment sink faucet was unable to turn on, until a mechanism was screwed tighter to get it going.
Haru Sushi13133 State Line RoadSeven critical violations found during Oct. 6 inspection
Multiple live roaches were seen near the mop sink and the hot water tank. Three dead roaches were also spotted near the hot water tank. Grease buildups were seen on the hood vents, as well as on the floors and equipment between fryers and stovetop.
No violations were found during a Oct. 13 follow-up inspection.
Royal Meadows Golf Course10501 E 47th St.11 violations found during Oct. 7 inspection
Dead insects were seen in two separate water and soda coolers. An employee was seen eating while they were preparing food. Build-up was seen on a soda gun and on coffee machine.
GJ Fish + Chicken12005 E 47th St.Seven violations found during Oct. 7 inspection
A tub of marinated chicken was held past seven day date marking. Sticky traps with dead insects on them were seen under dry storage area and on the side of a deep freezer.
J’s Fish & Chicken Market2831 Prospect Ave.Seven critical violations found during Oct. 7 inspection
Utility lines were exposed in the ware wash area. A swarm of flies was seen in several areas, including the kitchen. A buildup was seen inside the microwave.
BP
Mold was seen on the ice guard and on the exterior of the ice machine. The doors and handles of the retail cooler had mold on them. A microwave was “coated with debris,” which could fall into food that gets heated in there, according to the inspector.
Fiorella’s Event Space
An open can of whipped topping had no expiration date and had mold on the nozzle. Braised chicken breasts were not marked as needing additional cooking, though that was corrected.
Aahaa Modern Indian Cuisine
A container of cooked curd rice and a container of lamb and rice were being held without date labels. These items were later discarded.
Shawnee Mission Beach Bar and Grill
The packaging of an opened box of tomato juice had mold on its top. In a utensil drawer, four knives were seen with food residue on the blades.
J. Alexander’s Restaurant
An opened container of feta cheese with was seen with no date mark.
Which Kansas City restaurants were suspended this week?
Three Kansas City establishments were suspended this week. One of them was a Krispy Krunchy Chicken, which is located inside a BP gas station at 1500 Paseo Blvd. It was suspended after an Oct. 6 inspection due to plumbing issues, which included a three compartment sink and grease trap backup. The gas station did not respond when The Star reached out.
Harpo’s Bar & Grill, 4109 Pennsylvania Ave., was suspended following an Oct. 7 inspection. The suspension had to do with a three compartment sink, as the reports said there was “no other means to wash, rinse, and sanitize.” The establishment confirmed that they reopened for business on Oct. 9.
A Subway located at 1831 Independence Ave. was suspended following an Oct. 7 inspection. The report said the suspension had to do with food handler cards. The establishment could not be contacted when The Star reached out.
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